Category Archives: Transgender

No, you won’t. But you could maybe start here. Also, I apologize that this isn’t the funniest post in the history of HC…I’m a little hesitant to put to much cock and irreverence in this post ’cause, let’s be honest, there are some things that are serious. And you can get cock anywhere, you whore.

Fair warning: I am not, nor do I claim to represent, the transsexual climbing community. I climb with a couple of gender variant people and I’ve been lucky enough to learn a lot about these issues from them. I think it’s incredibly important for the HC community to be educated about this stuff because of who we are, and the diverse community we’re trying to create. (side-note…despite what you may see in pictures, we’re not all plain-Jane gay boys…we just have a couple of queens who always jump in front of whatever under-represented minority we’re trying to get pictures of in order to prove that they really do come on our trips.)

Some additional (unimportant) history: When I came out of the closet, my mother told me “I get the gay thing, but don’t you show up at my house in a dress.” I realized at that point that, as hard as it is to be gay, it’s got to be infinitely harder to be transgender. I’ve known for years that I wasn’t built with the courage it takes to live the life of some of my transgender friends, but I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have them…friends who’ve exercised what can only be described as a massive ass-load of patience in helping to educate me (and continue to do so) not only on how they want to be treated, but how I can best serve as an ally.

OK, that’s done…let’s talk.

Did you know that people who do not identify as the gender with which they were born are considered mentally ill by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders(DSM), published by the American Psychiatric Association? Google it…it’s called “Gender Identity Disorder.” Isn’t that cute? Gender identity is a disorder…so I guess we’re going with the whole “God don’t make no mistakes” thing here? The APA, you may remember, is the same group who voted to delete homosexuality from the DSM in the late 70’s, thus clearing the way for…well, for a lot. Our opponents had a wonderful time denying all manner of civil liberties to a group of gay people who were considered mentally ill, and now the same groups are having a field day doing the exact same thing to our transgender friends.

So the answer is obvious…we have to petition to have Gender Identify Disorder removed from the DSM RIGHT FUCKING NOW!!! Shit…hang on a second…

Removing the diagnosis from the DSM means insurance companies can stop covering gender reassignment procedures. Do you have ANY fucking idea what it costs to transition from male to female? Average is about $20,000. Up-front. That’s right, those surgeons aren’t fucking around, they want their money in advance.

So let’s petition to keep Gender Identity Disorder in the DSM RIGHT FUCKING NOW!!! Shit…wait…

People with the diagnosis still need civil liberties, which are pretty fucking hard to come by when you’ve been labeled a mentally ill man or woman (never mind your true gender, dear, we’re going to further denigrate a key part of your life experience by continuing to refer to you by the gender with which you were born.)

So what’s the answer? Fuck if I know. The odds are against the APA to removing GID from the DSM all-together, but there seems to be some momentum building to reform the diagnosis to lessen the stigma while simultaneously increasing the access to treatment options. One of the leading proponents of this change has been Kelley Winters. You can read more here, if you’re so inclined.

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